The unseen lord of the East Blue

Borsalino's compromise was so swift because Vice Admiral Garp's Dog-Head Ship appeared on the horizon.

This senior naval officer had a very good personality; he never tattled on others, nor did he suspect anything was wrong just because Borsalino boasted a little.

Instead, he found it amusing and, after laughing heartily, offered Kizaru drinks, Snow Cakes, and Senbei.

Vice Admiral Garp certainly doesn't tattle, but he has an incredibly loud voice.

If he finds something interesting, he'll definitely tell everyone in Marineford.

If that old man were to hear Shazo's boastful praise of him, it would be as if the entire high command of the Navy knew, and even Borsalino, with his thick skin, would find it hard to bear.

Shazo initially didn't believe that Garp was that powerful, but after boarding Garp's ship and seeing Garp with their own eyes, they had no choice but to believe it.

Vice Admiral Garp was very dissatisfied and in a bad mood. He clenched his fists tightly, stared at the Marine Admiral, and asked, "Kizaru, did that brat Shanks escape?"

Admiral Borsalino, completely lacking any sense of duty as a superior, humbly replied, "He ran away."

Garp's face darkened. "Why didn't you stop him? I've wanted to punch him hard in the Straw Hat for ages!" He hadn't had the chance to punch Roger in the head back then, but to do so on the head of someone wearing the same Straw Hat would feel pretty good.

Borsalino offered a sincere apology. "I'm sorry, Vice Admiral Garp, we were unable to capture Red-Haired Shanks."

His malicious words successfully piqued Garp's curiosity and diverted his attention. "Hmm?"

"Us?"

Garp thought for a moment, glanced at Shazo, who was asking the sailors for spare officer's uniforms, and then asked in a low voice, "Kizaru kid, are you saying that this Shazo kid also played a significant role?"

Borsalino nodded very firmly. "Yes!"

Garp became interested and patted Shazo on the shoulder approvingly. "Hahaha, very good. I'm very satisfied to have a Marine like you in the East Blue!"

"Shazo Zuo, I've heard of you before, but I didn't expect you to be this good."

"How about it? Want to have a fight with this old man?"

Shazo, who was being photographed and wincing in pain, firmly refused, saying, "No!"

Garp grinned and said, "Don't be so formal. In the entire Navy, which truly capable officer hasn't sparred with me?"

"Moreover, the benefits of fighting me would be substantial."

Shazo asked curiously, "Vice Admiral Garp, can I get paid to fight you?"

Garp shook his head and said, "What money? That's so tacky."

"All the Jun Jun I've fought have made tremendous progress in their skills. Isn't that more useful than money?"

Shazo was tempted; he thought of Koby.

It only took three short years for him to grow from a weakling like a bean sprout to a person of considerable strength.

Although Shazo still looked down on this Pink-Hair's performance a few years later, considering him a complete scoundrel with no principles, it must be admitted that his growth in strength was indeed remarkable.

Judging from this situation, Vice Admiral Garp, who valued and nurtured him from the very beginning, must have possessed some kind of special insight—right?

Shazo shook his head, dismissing this absurd idea.

Pshaw, it's not just Koby who's been beaten by this old geezer; Luffy, the main character, has Luffy too.

Thinking about Luffy's initial growth trajectory, and Luffy's straightforward, almost non-existent thought process, Shazo would never want to fight Garp again.

If he beats me into a fool, that would be absolutely terrible.

With Shazo firmly refusing, Garp reluctantly gave up the idea of fighting, but he made a new request. "Shazo, I have a favor to ask you."

Shazo asked, "Vice Admiral Garp, you have to tell me what it is before I can consider whether to agree."

Garp first laughed to cover it up, then, seeing that Shazo remained unmoved, he awkwardly made his request. "You've done a great job lately; the entire East Blue has become calmer than ever before. I hope you can stay in the East Blue for a few more years."

This is an extremely unreasonable request.

The East Blue is known as the "weakest sea," but within the navy, it also has a nickname. "The graveyard of officers."

Many naval personnel here are depressed and frustrated. They can't earn military merits or get promoted. They can only patrol and train day after day, slowly rotting away.

Knowing that Shazo possessed the fighting strength of Admiral, and even severely injured the Emperor of the Sea in his battle against Red-Haired Shanks the Four Emperors, he was still asked to stay in this "grave" for a few more years.

Garp himself felt that this was going too far, not to mention that he was not the Fleet Admiral and could not provide sufficient compensation for the years of delay.

To everyone's surprise, Shazo responded calmly, "Okay."

Then he stopped replying, jumped off the dog-headed ship, and used [Magnet Style] to control the Earth's magnetic field, flying towards the 77th Division.

After being injured, Red-Haired Shanks returned to the Red Voss, reunited with his crew, and then turned back to the entrance of the Grand Line.

There, Shanks has a ship's doctor he knows and trusts, who can perfectly heal his injuries.

Raziru handed the captain, whose wound had been bandaged, a piece of meat and joked, "Captain, you can't be so reckless next time."

Shanks took a big bite of meat, chewing as he mumbled, "It definitely won't happen again next time. This was an accident."

"Who would have thought that a mere lieutenant commander in the Navy could be so formidable?"

Ben Beckman, wearing a cloak, walked over and agreed, "I really didn't expect this guy to be so powerful, otherwise I should have stayed behind and faced him with the captain."

"His abilities are truly diverse; his Frost Stream alone is second only to Kuzan, and the difference isn't that significant."

Shanks laughed, "You don't know, what impressed me most was that after suffering such a heavy blow from [Divine Departure], he was actually able to make a breakthrough right in front of me and develop a new technique."

Ben Beckman was taken aback; they were too far away to know such details.

Shanks asserted, "This lieutenant commander will definitely become a very powerful Marine in the future, causing a lot of trouble for us, Kaido, Whitebeard, and Big Mom."

Ben Beckman muttered, "Another Marine Admiral?"

Shanks shook his head and said, "No, he should be the next 'Naval the Superstar '."

Yasopp and the others all gasped in shock.

Garp's reputation as a naval the Superstar is so great that if Garp weren't so dim-witted, he would be the most terrifying Marine Admiral, and his suppression of the great pirates on the seas would be even more frightening.

Shanks himself shuddered.

He thought of Shazo's silence and his seamless teamwork with Borsalino, and a chill ran down his spine.

A younger naval the Superstar with Garp's strength and Borsalino's cunning.

Just thinking about it is terrifying.

Monkey D. Garp, having failed to get a fight, returned dejectedly to Foosha Village to continue his vacation at home.

Feeling that he had made excessive demands on Shazo, Garp unceremoniously dialed Sengoku's number and demanded additional compensation from his old classmate.

"Sengoku, I've said what you asked me to say, and Shazo Zuo has agreed."

"You bastard, you didn't even tell me what compensation you could offer beforehand, making me lose face in front of Shazo Zuo."

"I don't care, you have to give this kid enough compensation to make up for the losses he incurred by continuing to stay in East Blue."

"Hmm, hmm, that's more like it."

"It's not that I'm particularly concerned about him, but this kid's hard work has made Foosha Village a very safe environment, allowing Ace and Luffy to grow up in a better way."

"Sengoku, although it was you who made the request, I am one of the direct beneficiaries, so I have to do something in return."

Vice Admiral Garp hummed in agreement a few times before hanging up the phone.

Then he reverted to his unreliable mode and started fooling around on his warship.

Seeing Vice Admiral Garp's condition, Borsalino, who had originally wanted to have a cup of tea and rest on the ship, knew it was time for him to leave.

So he hastily bid farewell and vanished in a flash of golden light.

The speed of light is the fastest speed in the world; it can reach every corner of the world in the blink of an eye.

After Borsalino transformed into light, his speed was obviously not as fast as the speed of light, but he was able to fly back to Marine Headquarters in less than an hour.

Upon returning to his office, he found a messenger waiting for him. It turned out that the high-ranking naval officers in Marineford were all waiting for him in the Fleet Admiral's Office for a meeting.

Borsalino let out an exaggerated sigh, then slowly brewed himself a cup of black tea, and carried it as he walked to the Fleet Admiral's Office.

Under the watchful eyes of Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Chief Instructor Zephyr, Staff Officer Vice Admiral Tsuru, Admiral Akainu Sakazuki, and Admiral Kuzan, he calmly sipped his red tea and joked, "So everyone's been waiting for me. What do you want me to do?"

Sengoku didn't reprimand Borsalino; he had gotten used to it back when the guy was still Vice Admiral.

His Fleet Admiral said solemnly, "We need to make a decision, and the most important thing is to hear your report."

"Borsalino, do you really think Shazo is willing to stay in the East Blue without any complaints?"

Borsalino recounted the conversation between Shazo and him, Shazo's comment that "the Navy is dogs" silenced all the high-ranking Navy officers present.

Upon hearing Shazo's plan to develop his strength in the East Blue until he was powerful enough to ignore any obstacles set by the Five Elders before emerging to make a name for himself, even Vice Admiral Tsuru thought, "Damn, why didn't I think of this when I was young?"

That feeling.

Just as Shazo predicted, the current high-ranking naval officers all achieved fame at a young age and were exposed to the Five Elders ' scrutiny at an early age before they understood the dangers of the world.

Then the Five Elders seized upon their weaknesses, and from then on, they were powerless to break free from their constraints.

In fact, there was an outlier in the Navy who figured all this out early on. Monkey D. Dragon, when he had just become famous and before his weaknesses were exposed, decisively severed all family ties.

With a resolute attitude, he abandoned everything in the Navy and stood firmly on the side of opposing the Five Elders and overthrowing the World Government.

However, Dragon's resolute and undisguised hostile stance forced the World Government to not only refrain from exploiting his weaknesses, but also to protect and tolerate his son Luffy, in order to avoid completely enraging Dragon and causing even greater losses.

Unfortunately, the high-ranking naval officers present were too deeply entrenched in their responsibilities within the navy, making it impossible for them to break free of these constraints. After listening to Borsalino's report, Sengoku let out a long sigh and said, "It's good that Shazo is willing to stay in the East Blue."

Sengoku had already said this once when Xia Zuo, in the name of Commodore Pudding Pudding, submitted the order to eliminate the Arlong Pirates.

At that time, Fleet Admiral Sengoku perceived Shazo as weak, merely a guy whose strength was close to that of a Rear Admiral of the Headquarters, not the formidable character he is now who could fight a battle against the Four Emperors and even find a way to turn defeat into victory.

In the Pirate World, strength reigns supreme. Since Shazo has demonstrated Admiral- level strength, Sengoku must treat him with the appropriate attitude and treatment.

Of course, Admiral is out of the question, and Vice Admiral is also out of the question; those would be too conspicuous.

The Fleet Admiral Sengoku took out two appointment letters and carefully reviewed them again.

That was the appointment letter that Vice Admiral Tsuru rewrote after the order appointing Shazo as the branch Department Head of the 77th Branch and promoting him to Colonel was revoked.

With the new promotion order, Shazo was promoted two ranks, breaking through the ceiling of the rank of colonel and becoming the second Commodore after Pudding Pudding.

The Fleet Admiral Sengoku asked again, "Tsuru, is there any problem with the Commodore general rank?"

Vice Admiral Tsuru smiled calmly, "Sengoku, you're too nervous."

"Shazo Xia Zuo's attitude is very clear: what he wants most is to avoid being noticed by the Five Elders, and secondly, for us to take him seriously."

"Therefore, the Commodore general rank is just right."

Sengoku took a deep breath and signed his name on the document.

The key to understanding the attitude of the naval leadership lies in the new appointment letter drafted by Vice Admiral Tsuru, which not only appointed Shazo as the Department Head of the 77th Branch, but also as the commander of the East Blue Patrol Force.

This East Blue Patrol Force existed specifically for Shazo, and its formation was only finalized minutes before Borsalino's return.

With this position, Shazo's authority will cover the entire East Blue, making him the de facto supreme commander of all naval forces in the East Blue.

On the surface, Shazo is only the Department Head of the 77th Branch, but when carrying out specific tasks, the entire East Blue Navy, including more than a dozen branch bases, must obey Shazo's orders.

Even the headquarters base in Loguetown is under Shazo's direct control.

This nominal commandership was the compensation that Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Tsuru had painstakingly sought, and he believed that Shazo would be satisfied with it.

Shazo was indeed very satisfied.

What he was most satisfied with was the specially equipped Rear Admiral -class Patrol Ship and the authority to recruit patrol troops independently in the East Blue.

Having become an invisible vassal state of the East Blue, what could he possibly be dissatisfied with?